Artificial fish bait



Jan. 3, 1950 6. L. GRIMM ARTIFIOIAL FISH B51 Filed Nov. 22, 1,947

JNVENTOR. C//'6/ G7" HTTYS Patented Jan. 3, 1950 UNITED STATES PATENTOFFICE ARTIFICIAL FISH BAIT Cliel L. Grimm, Highland Park, Mich.Application November 22, 1947, Serial No. 787,576

1 Claim.

This invention relates toartificial fish baits, and in particular tobaits which dive and swim to and fro.

One object of this invention is to provide an artificial fish baitwhich, when drawn through the water, will first dive beneath the waterand then level oif and swim along While turning to and fro in anundulating'path so as to resemble the motion of a natural minnow orfrog.

Another object is to provide an artificial fish bait which has itscenter of gravity and center of buoyancy located at approximately themidpoint of the bait so that the forward and rearward sections of thebait tend to pivot around the midportion and are cut away so as toundulate to and fro around the mid-portion as a center.

Another object is to provide an artificial fish bait having a forwardsection including a pair of inclined concave portions interconnected byan approximately flat portion with a shoulder at the forward edgethereof so that the forward concave portion causes the bait to dive, theshoulder creates eddy currents and the rearward concave portion not onlycounteracts the diving action, causing the bait to be restored to ahorizontal position beneath the surface, but also, when subjected to theeddy currents from the shoulder, causes the bait to waggle to and froaround its mid-portion, thus simulating the natural swimming motion ofminnows, frogs and crabs.

In the drawing:

Figure 1 is a side elevation of an artificial fish bait, according to apreferred form of the invention;

Figure 2 is a top plan view of the fish bait shown in Figure 1;

Figure 3 is a right-hand end elevation of the bait shown in Figure 1;

Figure 4 is a cross-section along the line 4-4 in Figure 1, showing thenature of the sump or rearward concave portion of the bait;

Figure 5 is a cross-section along the line 5--5 in Figure 1, showing thenature of the toe or forward concave portion of the bait; and

Figure 6 is a cross-section along the line 6-8 in Figure 1, showing theflat transverse configuration of the rearward portion.

Referring to the drawings in detail, Figures 1 and 2 show an artificialfish bait according to a preferred form of the invention as consistingof an elongated body ID with a partially cylindrical undersurface II andforward and rearward sections l2 and I3 respectively, separated from oneanother by a mid-section M of approximately circular cross-section.

proximately circular cross-section.

The forward section l2includes an upwardlyinclined toe portion l5terminating in a shoulder l6 above which is a horizontal or fiat portionIT. The latter terminates in an upwardly-inclined concave sump or heelportion l8. The toe portion I5 is approximately saddle-shaped inconfiguration in that it is convexly curved lengthwise (Figure 1) andconcavely curved crosswise. The transverse concavity of the toe portionl 5 flattens out as it approaches the shoulder l6, and a screw eye I9 ismounted near this location for the connection of a fishing line 20. Thelatter is conventional and may include the usual swivel, with or withouta leader and also possibly a sinker, de-

pending upon the fishing conditions encountered.

The sump portion or heel portion I8 is inclined upwardly and rearwardlyfrom the fiat portion l1 and is concave both lengthwise and crosswise.At its upper rearward edge it merges with the midsection [4 which, aspreviously stated, is of ap- The rearward section I3 is cut away, firstin a concave portion 2|, merging into a short fiat portion 22 which inturn merges into a convex portion 23, the transverse configuration ofthe portions 2|, 22 and 23 being approximately flat or a straight line(Figure 6). The body IU of the bait thus roughly resembles an invertedladys slipper.

Mounted approximately beneath the sump or rearward concave portion I8 isa screw eye 24 which carries a treble hook 25 or any other suitable typeof hook. Similarly, near the rearward end of the bait there is mounted ascrew eye 26 carrying a second treble hook 21, preferably slightlysmaller in size than the treble hook 25, so as not to upset the balanceof the bait. The balance of the bait body It is such that when it isplaced upon a knife edge and adjusted so that its forward section l2balances its rearward section I 3, the knife edge lies approximatelybeneath the center of the mid-section M. In this manner, the center ofgravity of the bait and also its center of buoyancy are located in themid-section ll of the bait body Hi, this being accomplished by cuttingaway the rearward portion l3 to correspond roughly with the cutting awayof the forward portion l2.

The body I0 is preferably manufactured from wood or plastic material, itbeing hollowed out internally to provide buoyancy if made of plasticmaterial. The bait is used either by trolling or casting in the ordinaryway. Assuming that the line 20 is attached to a reel mounted on anordinary casting rod, the fisherman casts the bait in the ordinary wayand then starts to retrieve it-by, eling in the line 20. As the bait isdrawn through the water, the toe portion l 5, by reason of it"szifipwardand rearward curvature causes the bait'gffi dive beneath the water.

Thisdiving continues until the shoulder l6 and dat -portion H aresubmerged and the sump poftionor rearward concave portion l8 begins tosubmerge. When this occurs, the water deflected from the shoulder l6encounters the concave inclifnjed surface l 8'and causes a restoringforce to be applied to the bait. This restoring force swings the body Inaround the mid-section i4 andcounteracts the diving effect of the toeportion l5. The bait thenceforth travels in an approximately horizontalplane but swings to and fro in that plane due to the action of the eddycurrents'set up by the water deflected irom the shoulder l6 across thehorizontal fiat portion H.

The fact that the rearward section 13=is out away as at 2|, 22 and 23along its upper surface,

,enablesthe rearward section l-3 to-swingffreely in the oppositedirection from :the forward-section H. In ,other words, the cooperationof the toe portionlii acting as ascoopwith the-sump portion i8 acting-as,a restoring vane and also as an oscillation-causing surfaceimparts a'unique motionto-the bait-as it is drawn through-the .water. r

w In addition to thesteady forward motion-of the bait as it is drawnthrough the water-by trolling vorwby retrievingafter casting, the'baitmay-be held-stationary in-a running stream, such as a river or brook,and the same effects brought about.

The-fisherman can also alter the regularity 10f gmotion by twitchingor-jerklng the line,- whereupon the baitwill-suddenly dive, simulatingthe action of a V minnow attempting to escape from :a; gamefish. -Byimparting a series of'such jerks to the lineand hence to the bait, thebaitwill dart downward: in a series oi. dives corresponding to theseries of, jerks. :After each dive; the bait straightens out to travelupon a level path at a depth depending upon the speed at which the baitis drawn through the water.

The bait may be given' various combinations of 5 colors, according tothe locality or fishing conditions under which it is to be used. Thebait is also made in several sizes, depending upon the type of fishwhich it is intended to catch, all the way from the tiny plug type baitwhich is used with ally-rod to a large heavy bait for muskellunge orother large gamefish.

What I claim is: An artificial fish bait comprising an elongated bodythe-lower portion of which is a portion of a cylinder in cross sectionand is straight from end to en'd, th'efront end thereof having its faceof concave-formation transversely and convex longitudinally, the upperportion of said face providing a substantially vertical wall, a sectionof the 20 body adjacent'said wall being fiat and extending rearwardlytoward the mideportion of said body, a section of the body: air-themid-portion being Wider in extent than the portion having the flatWallr-and having a-front convex-face-and a rear 0 ,curved face,-thelatter face: being in the form of an' ogee curve in-longitudinalelevation and extending to the rear endoi the-:body, a-screw eye securedto the front face adjacent the shoulder, and hooks secured to the lowerportion of the body. r a 7 'LCLIEL'iL. GRIMM.

lRl'JFERENCES-CITED The following references areof-recordin the 2' 5file of this patent:

Q UNITED ""s'rATEs PATENTS

